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Great Mongeham Drop In

This moning I went to the dop in. There was a lot of discussion there about the serious crime which occurred recently.

This has left a lot of residents shaken that this has occurred in our otherwise quiet (ish) community.

Other topics were the state of footpaths in the village and overgrowing hedges in a neighbouring village. The issue of noise associated with public houses was also raised.

Residents were also discussing soap. Now the men felt that when a bar of soap is almost used up then the sensible idea is to put it onto the new bar. Apparently the females in our midst have other ideas!

Current mood: Sad


the secret millionaire

this evening i was watching the television show the secret millionaire.

Tonight's show was about a visit to Easington, a place i have been to as part of my work with the alliance.

This former mining community has similarities with some of our mining communities in East Kent  and I am proud to recognize the work carried on by community groups down here.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the work of Derek Garrity and his team in Aylesham as well as that of Anne Denne and Steve Morgan for the Betteshanger Community.

We are fortunate with being able to access funding from The Coalfield Regeneration Trust for much community work down here but there is always more that could be done to help these communities.

Current mood: Happy


Church moves into the 21st century

While reading an Australian media site I came across a story how a rural community is beating the problems of distance and a dwindling aging population.

This story shows the benefits that rural communities can derive from access to broadband services even for their regular worship.

Current mood: Happy


Eastry Coffee Break

This morning I went to the village hall for the coffee break.

I met a number of residents and talked over issues such as planning,  school holiday activities, football and ICT issues.

There was also discussion about the difficulties in remedying some of the issues around council housing with competing needs.

Current mood: Happy


Great Mongeham Drop In

This morning I went to the dop in.

I was able to chat to a number of residents

One topic was noise disturbance in the village and I want to work with the residents and officers of the council to come up with solutions which are agreeable to all.

Current mood: Hopeful


Funding Opportunity closing soon

Dover District Neighbourhood Forums: Funding for community projects

  

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 29^TH AUGUST 2008

  

  

• Do you belong to a voluntary or community group in the district?
• Do you need capital funding?
• Do you know of any groups that do?

 

If yes, the closing date for applications to the Dover District Small Community Capital Projects fund is approaching fast and applications need to be completed as quickly as possible. 

 

Dover District Council and Kent County Council have allocated funds to each of the five Neighbourhood Forums in the district to give out small grants in their community to local projects.

 

The maximum amount groups can apply for is £5,000 and the project must be capital purchases. All grant applications need to show benefit to the community; successful projects last year included new equipment, small building works, notice boards and landscaping. 

 

Kent County Council is administering this Small Community Capital Projects fund and you can download an application pack from Dover District Council's website:

 

www.dover.gov.uk/neighbourhoodforums/funding.asp

 

The closing date for applications is the 29th August 2008. The Neighbourhood Forums will recommend projects for grant funding at the next round of quarterly meetings in October 2008.

 

Please let local groups know about this grant

 

  

Dover District Neighbourhood Forums

• There are five forums are in place across the district:

 

1.                               Deal and Walmer:

Covering: North Deal, Middle Deal and Sholden (part), Mill Hill and Walmer.

 

2.                               Dover North:

Covering: Aylesham, Nonington, Eythorne, Tilmanstone, Northbourne, Great Mongeham, Sutton, Ripple, Langdon, Guston, St.Margaret's at Cliffe and Ringwould with Kingsdown.

 

3.                               Dover Town:

Covering: Buckland, St.Radigunds, Maxton Elms Vale and Priory, Town and Pier, Tower Hamlets and Castle.

 

4.                               Dover West:

Covering: Denton with Wootton, Shepherdswell with Coldred, Lydden, Temple Ewell , Alkham, River, Capel-Le-Ferne, Hougham Without and Whitfield.

 

5.                               Sandwich:

Covering: Stourmouth, Preston, Wingham, Ash, Goodnestone, Staple, Woodnesborough, Sandwich , Worth, Sholden and Eastry

 

• The Dover District Neighbourhood Forums are a joint DDC and KCC initiative, enabling a new form of consultation and feedback from local communities and improving community engagement.

 

• The aim is to give local people a chance to voice their opinions and concerns; have their say in the decisions that affect their lives and their communities and challenge the delivery of services.

 

• The Forums join the three tiers of local government, with equal representation from DDC members, KCC members and Town and Parish Councillors.

 

• Each Forum holds public meetings four times a year. You can find further information on the Forums on the Dover District Neighbourhood Forums webpage:

 

www.dover.gov.uk/neighbourhoodforums

Current mood: Cool


My Tribute To Lord Sandy of the Weald

It was with great sadness that i heard about the passing of Lord Sandy.

I have had dealings with him on a number of occasions and I have found him  a helpful and generous friend of the residents of the District. He was keen to help and was an invaluable ally at County Hall.

He will be sorely missed by many in the district. His work on the county council helped to transform Kent into the successful place it is now. He was also an influential politician at the national level through his work on local government.

I offer his family my consolations at this time.

Current mood: Sad


Church and yard Cleanup

Today at St Martins in Great Mongeham residents both church  going and the wider community came together to give the church a good clean out both inside and out. It is amazing how quickly some plants especially Ivy grows over walls and around trees.

The large band of workers made good progress and this well help all users of the church.

Current mood: Happy


Eastry Coffee Break

This moning I went with my youngest son to the coffee break.  We met residents who were discussing the holidays and amusement parks.

A resident also complimented the council for swift action action to remedy a problem at the public toilets in Eastry. He rang the council one morning about a fault and was told that the problem would be fixed that day and he was pleasantly surpised that the work was carried out as promised.

Current mood: Cool


Great Mongeham Drop In

This morning I went to the drop in. I met a number of residents and was asked about a number of issues. These included noise disturbance, traffic calming, local fish shops, Deal Pier and summer holidays.

I will look into the appropriate matters and try to give guidance next week.

Current mood: Cool


How to do something really useful on the internet

My children pointed out the Free Rice website.

this allows one to expand one's vocabulary while at the same time donating rice through the UN world food programme.

So if your children are looking for something to do,

and is useful,

as well as educational,

why not put them onto this website?

Current mood: Cool


Feedback

Last night I did an entry about littering across the country and today I received the following email.

"Dear, Mr Manion. It seems to me that you could be the person to speak to regarding the above subject matter. Having lived in Australia and observed how that country tackles the problem of litter, could you not start the implementation of some of their practises here ?  The problem of litter is a source of concern  for so many people in this country, and most councils seemingly don't care. Last night on Panorama, Bill Bryson made a plea to central and local government to bring in measures to combat this blight on our towns', cities and countryside. Without people like yourself, we can only half solve the problem. Together with thousands of like-minded people across the country, I trawl the streets of my town ( Dover ), plus the surrounding countryside, picking up litter three or four times a week. Is it too much to ask that our local council should take a much more responsible role in fighting this blight. Why can you not employ a litter warden, who could make on the spot fines ? Make sure that Sita is given the tools to do a better job : for example, more staff and vehicles. Why do you not approach the firms that make up the business park, and ask them to collectively employ a part-time cleaner to keep clean their outside spaces. I am aware that the answers to the questions I have posed will not be easy. But, until you and other councils give this problem the attention it deserves, things will only get worse. I feel sure that all right-minded people will support any action on your part that needs to be taken"

 

I have passed on this information to my cabinet colleagues for their attention and deliberation.

Current mood: Cool


Bill Bryson's crusade

Tonight I am watching Panorama about Bill Brysons crusade about Litter.

This is a prennial poblem in the district and in fact over the last few weeks the weekly churchsheet has highlighted the problem with litter in our local area.

It seems that as a sociaety we are more inclined to discard our rubbish with no thought of the effect. I know some of my colleagues on the parish council are similarly upset by the people who throw rubbish from their cars after visiting a local fast food takeaway.this issue is

I hope that Bill has a measure of success in his campaign

Current mood: Mad


summer holidays

Now as a parent of teenage children I understand the need to find suitable activities for them to keep boredom at bay over this holiday period.

With this in mind I draw readers' attention to some of the summer holday events being held by the district council. Full details are available on the district council website.

some of these activities are:

22 August - Outdoor Cinema - Grease

24 August - Street Party, Battle of the Bands and Fireworks Display

I hope this helps to provide suitable entertainment over the holidays.

Current mood: Cool


First the post offices now the telephone boxes

Last year one of the big issues that faced our community last year was the closure of a number of rural post offices. This year our rural communities face the withdrawal of telephone boxes.

The district council has consulted with local communities and sent a response to BT representing these local views to either support the removal or object to these removals

One wonders what the next service to be rationalised is?

Current mood: Sceptical


Neighbourhood funding grants

Just a reminder to readers that only 3 weeks to get grant applications for the neighbourhood funding round.

The application details are on the district council website

This is a good opportunity for small community based organizations in the parishes of Dover North

Current mood: Cool


A wet morning in Bruges

This morning the rain came to Bruges with a vengeance.

We still managed to look at some of the sights including a canal boat ride.

In the afternoon we did a tour of a local brewery.

While over here I have been contacted by some residents on a range of issues which I will deal with more fully next week.

amusement park

Today i took my children to the Boudewijn Seapark just outside Bruges. We always enjoy going there to go on some of the rides as well as enjoy a game of minigolf. The weather was kind to us and i tried to ensure that we used enough suncream to avoid being sun burnt.

The crowds are not too bad although the park does tend to fill up later in the day.

Current mood: Happy


foreign climes

Today i have travelled to Bruges for a brief vacation.

While here i have already fieled calls and emails on ward issues.

One of my greatest difficulties is with the keyboard on the Hotel Computer as it is not a QWERTY keyboard so my typing is even worse than usual.

I hope others are enjoying their summer.

Current mood: Happy


website again improves its audience

I was looking at the Dover District Council website usage statistics today and noticed a record jump to a new high.

The numbers were up about 10% in the number of total hits and reflect the increasing reliance people have on this aspect of the council's service.

I hope users are also feeding back to the website team their thoughts on further improvements.

Current mood: Cool


a small win for the community

Recently I was approached by residents about a noise problem associated with some business activity at a locla landholding and today i received notice that the planning enforcement officer had visited the site and managed to get the owner to stop the activity.

Sometimes these issues take a while to be resolved but I am pleased with the result in this instance

Current mood: Cool


Eastry coffee Break

This morning I went to the coffee break to chat to residents

while there I was discussing the proposed aerial cable car In Dover. This could be a major tourist attraction is another piece in the regeneration of Dover.

Also residents approached me about bus services to the village and when I get the details I will pass the information on to the appropriate people.

Current mood: Happy